Twilight
by DrTyphoid
Summary: Twilight Sparkle finds herself practicing obscure, size-changing magic with her unwitting, and hopelessly twitterpated assistant, Caramel.


Twilight Sparkle sat pleasantly in her study, with her nose deeply buried in the faded pages of an ancient tome. The sunbeams afforded by Ponyville's dusk-time sunset bathed her room in a brilliant orange light. Occasionally, she would nod absentmindedly, turn a page with her magic, and smile to herself as she absorbed the books dense knowledge. It had been a peaceful afternoon of intense studying for the talented unicorn, the first time in months she was free to read without interruption.

Spike had committed to help Rarity fill a large order of finery for a client in Canterlot, and he had not been in the library since morning. Twilight chuckled, thinking of how little "work" the little dragon would actually accomplish in the presence of their stunning fashionista friend. It was quiet days like these that Twilight would spend in the company of her precious texts, studying and practicing the secrets held within.

Magic. Twilight had an utter fascination with all things arcane. It was her special talent, after all. She had a knack for just about every flavor of magic conceivable to ponykind. She had blazed through elementary magic years ago, and the only knowledge that would satiate her appetite was buried deep away in antique libraries. The more obscure, the better, she often found. New techniques and ideas abounded in these under-appreciated texts. Starswirl's Third Commentary on Obscure Magics was just the thing she craved.

The book covered everything from voice-alteration enchantments to spells that caused fits of uncontrollable laughter in pegasi. She made a mental note to test the later spell on Rainbow Dash the next time she came careening into the library. These and many other spells noted in the text were happily included in Twilight's already impressive repertoire with relative ease.

She took a moment to scribble a few notes on paper before turning the page once more, mumbling to herself as she read. A section clearly labeled Size Alteration greeted her eyes.

"Interesting..."

Diagrams beside scribbled writing showed in minute detail exactly what the spell was designed to do. She understood that the book intended to cover the obscure, but this was a stretch, even for that lofty categorization, she thought. She couldn't imagine why anypony would want to do such a thing. The text described methods of alteration alongside all the various magnitudes of growth or miniaturization. All of it gibberish, she concluded. She had to remind herself that Starswirl was notorious for being cryptic, and that the haziness would soon clear with a bit of persistent reading.

... Or, she soon found, an awful LOT of reading. She had dissected the same passage several times, becoming none the brighter for it. Twilight let out a frustrated huff before closing the book with a heavy thud. It wasn't every day she was bested by mere words, and seeing herself so easily defeated caused self-dissapointed bitterness to well up within her. It was all a mix-matched blur between methods of performing and reversing the spell. Was it like this..? Or...? Did he mean to say..? The questions flooded her mind more liberally than they had before. Through the mire, she resolved to perform the spell at least ONCE before retiring for the night.

After a pregnant moment in deep thought, Twilight's determination returned. She poised herself, training her horn on one of the many quills scattered across her study table. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the few spell-techniques that she had made sense of. Slowly, a brilliant lavender light began to glow around her horn and envelop the quill. Through gritted teeth and furrowed brow, Twilight caused her horn to erupt in a blinding flash that lingered in the air around her. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes, for fear of what abomination she may have inadvertently created.

To her surprise, the quill had completely vanished! Although that wasn't her intent, she was relieved to see that she didn't transform it into some terrible monster. Slowly, she crept up to the table, peeking over It's edge. The table was disappointingly void. What had she done wrong?

She huffed, folded her forehooves across her chest and leaned against the table in defeat. Never had she been bested by a spell like this! A mix of embarrassment and shame crept into the back of her mind, taunting and teasing her dwindling confidence. Before she slumped into deeper self doubt, her attention was caught by the strangest tickling sensation on the tip of her muzzle. She inhaled sharply before daintily sneezing, sending the source of irritation into the air. Twilight sniffled and blinked for a moment, surprised to see something utterly miniscule floating beside her. She narrowed her vision, focusing on the tiny, sinking tuft of what looked like down from a pegasus' wings. Lowering a hoof to catch it, Twilight was able to make out exactly what it was. Although it had been much larger only moments ago, it was unmistakably her quill!

The excitement that welled up within her was uncontainable. She had actually done it! The sheer thought of it caused her to bubble over with delight. Yes! yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes! She found herself literally bouncing around on the tips of her hooves in elation. It was only the faint sound of hoofknocks echoing down the hall that grounded her back in reality.

As if on a cloud, Twilight floated over to answer the door. She asked in a sing-song voice

"Who is iiiiiit?"

Before a voice could answer, she enthusiastically opened the door, beaming at the pony standing on her doorstep. A shocked stallion with three blue hoofprints on his flank stood before her, taking a few hesitant steps backwards in surprise.

"Oh, erm... Hello Twilight. It's Caramel."

Twilight opened her eyes, and spied Caramel cowering slightly. She giggled and offered him a hoof.

"Hey there, Caramel! I hope I didn't scare you. I just had a breakthrough with a spell I've been wrestling with all afternoon! If you couldn't tell, I'm just a LITTLE bit excited"

By now, the sun had set entirely, and the only light in the darkness was afforded by the lanterns lit around town. Their dim, yellow flames flickered majestically, casting long shadows on the ponies that walked to and fro. It was rare for Twilight to have any visitors, let alone at this hour. The stallions presence puzzled her.

"I wasn't expecting anypony this late... What can I do to help you?"

Caramel warmed up to the mare, taking her hoof and standing to speak.

"I hope I'm not bothering you, Twilight, I was just hoping... maybe..."

He hesitated, and began searching for words to finish his statement

"... you could help me find a book? I've uh... I've been looking for something to help me around the farm, you know..."

The only thing more betraying of his embarrassment than the blush on his cheeks was the cheesy grin plastered unconvincingly on his muzzle. Twilight nodded congenially, oblivious to those striking cues .

"Oh don't worry at all! I'm bound to have plenty of books for something like that... Follow me!"

She turned tail and motioned for Caramel to follow her into the library. He followed suit, politely closing the door behind himself. If a pony could skip mid-trot, Twilight certainly was. She mingled in the bookshelves, humming happily to herself as she perused the familiar volumes. Unbeknownst to her, however, Caramel had intently taken to watching her gracefully maneuver around the books, paying very little attention to what she said.

"... now, there are books that outline the growing, raising, and even the consuming of crops. What was it you were looking for specifically? Arbor Fields wrote a very nice commentary on wheat, while..."

In earnest, Caramel cared very little for the books. The purpose of his visit was much less a matter of acquiring some old book than it was to get a moment to speak with Twilight alone. He had been utterly smitten with the mare the moment he laid eyes on her, yet he always lacked the courage to act. Tonight, however, he was determined to let her know just how he felt.

Truth be told, he could certainly have used a book on the raising of flowers. His poor botanical talent showed in the humble bouquet of tulips he concealed in his saddlebags. When the time was right to give them to her, he hoped she would be able to look past such frivolousness. While swimming in these thoughts, Caramel was completely oblivious to Twilight's gentle address.

"Caramel? What book would you like?"

He found himself caught in an embarrassing stare. Before he could speak, Twilight inquired, chuckling under her breath as she did so.

"Are you alright?"

Caramel blinked, and shook his head. Yet again, he donned an overly excessive smile to mask his welling embarrassment. With rosy tinge highlighting his cheeks, he replied

"Oh, I'm... I'm just fine, Twilight, really. It's just..."

He struggled for words

"You're being a great help, and... I really wish there was some way I could repay you."

Repay, Twilight thought? Nopony had ever offered her such a thing for just loaning out a book.

"Oh, nonono, Caramel, don't worry! This is what I'm here for! I mean, you don't need to help me with anything, I've just been studying up on some spells and..."

She paused mid-sentence. The spell, she thought. Perhaps there WAS something he could help her with. Twilight contemplated whether or not she really should enlist his help for such a task

"Well... there is ONE thing..."

Caramels eyes lit up. An excuse to spend more time with Twilight, he thought, was exactly what he wanted.

"Just name it, Twilight, anything!"

Twilight's curiosity was piqued enough at the sheer thought of it, but Caramels willful, even excited demeanor removed all of her inhibition. Still, she had to be absolutely sure his participation was voluntary.

"You really mean it? Anything?"

Her beautiful, pleading eyes completely entranced the stallion. His only reply was an affirmative nod. Twilight clapped her hooves together excitedly and flashed a grin that seemed to stretch far beyond what was conceivably possible.

"Oh, thank you SO much, Caramel! You have no idea how much this means to me!"

She beckoned Caramel closer with a friendly wave of her hoof.

"Here, follow me. So you see, this spell I've been working on..."

Caramel couldn't help but wear a smile himself. Seeing Twilight so invigorated brought a cheerful warmth to his heart. With these feelings garnishing his thoughts, he lightheartedly trotted behind the mare down into her study. As he followed, Twilight continued to recite details and specifics about the spell she was practicing, most of which made no sense to him. Truthfully, he didn't have the foggiest idea about what he had just gotten himself into. This, however, was of little concern to Caramel. He was simply glad to be spending some quality time with the librarian.

Upon reaching her candlelit study, Caramel gently placed his saddlebag on the ground, careful not to reveal the flowers he had prepared. Twilight concluded, saying,

"... And so it made me wonder if I could perform the spell the same way on something else, or maybe even somePONY else! So that's where you come in!"

She peeked over to the stallion, before asking with great enthusiasm,

"Do you have any questions before we begin?"

The look on Caramels face betrayed no sign of trepidation as she spoke. He only nodded and smiled. To this, Twilight slowly trotted closer

"Alright Caramel, take a deep breath and relax. Close your eyes."

Obediently, he took in a long, satisfying lungful of air, exhaling slowly through his nose. He let his eyelids droop before finally closing.

"Good... Lets get started."

True to form, Twilight assumed the same pose she had while casting on the quill. Thin, twinkling latices of amethyst light formed at the tip of her horn, ebbing and flowing through the air around her. The glow happily migrated to Caramel, sheathing him in brilliant, pulsing spirals. Warm light bathed him from all directions as Twilight's magic danced about playfully. It wasn't long before an unexpected feeling of vertigo overtook the stallion. The sensation caused him to shuffle his hooves slightly, as if searching for steady footing. A desperate need to open his eyes soon took hold. Instead, he squinted them shut. The feeling became more intense with each passing moment until it abruptly waned into nothingness. It's passing was accompanied by a near silent fizzle that ended in an echoing pop that called Caramels ears to a frightened attention.

The stallion wasn't sure of what unnatural change had just occurred in his body. His eyes, before shut in obedience, were now firmly sealed for fear of discovering his new and certainly disfigured state. Fearfully, he opened one eye to a slit, revealing, to his astonishment, a perfectly unaltered hoof. It's pleasant normalcy prompted both his eyes to shoot wide open in disbelief as he frantically scanned his whole body for any sort of alterations, to find none. He started to question whether Twilight's spell had worked at all.  
Before he could travel further down this line of thought, he suddenly caught sight of an impossibly tall purple mass on the horizon that appeared to rise forever into the sky. His eyes trailed slowly up the length of it before coming to a sudden, chilling stop at two bright, glossy pools of violet suspended in the heavens above him. The gravity of his situation suddenly sank in as he realized who now stood before him.

"S... sweet, merciful Celestia!"

Before any other choice words could come to Caramel's mind, his ears were filled with a victorious squee that boomed louder than thunder. His ears flattened themselves against his skull in reaction to the harsh noise.

"I cant believe it WORKED! Eheheehe!"

Twilight bounced excitedly in celebration, causing Caramels world to violently shake underneath him with each hooffall. He soon found himself tumbling to the floor clumsily due to Twilight's incessant jubilance. Oblivious to the fright she was causing the poor stallion, she continued to giggle in girlish delight. Grinning, she lowered her head to speak.

"Isn't this fantastic, Caramel? I cant believe I could ca..."

She caught herself mid-thought after realizing that the tiny pony beneath her was visibly shaking, and shying away from her muzzle. Her eyes widened in realization, and her tone of voice became that of a bare whisper.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you, Caramel, I just..."

She backed up a bit to give the stallion room, daintily crossing her hooves in embarrassment.

"I got a little bit excited. I was working on that spell forever, and... It worked! Can you believe it?"

Caramel simply stared upward in awe at Twilight. After an eternity of blank thought, he finally managed to speak.

"T... Twilight? Why am I so small?! What did you do to me?"

His voice was little more than faint chirping to the mare. Twilight leaned in closer, ears angled toward him in an inquisitive manner.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I can hardly hear you. You're... pretty teeny. I didn't mean to go so overboard on the spell."

She giggled under her breath and smiled down to the little pony beneath her, perfectly satisfied in her success. Squinting, she made out Caramels unamused expression. Her eyes drooped sympathetically. The poor little pony was likely frightened to death!

"Don't worry, Caramel, I wont hurt you! I promise!"

Her words did little to assuage the shrunken pony's poor mood.

"You're mad at me, aren't you..?"

In truth, Caramel was not as upset as he was utterly frightened. He was hardly an inch tall, by his best judgement. It would only take an accident on Twilight's part to seriously maim him, or worse. Visions of his untimely demise at Twilight's hooves caused him to shudder . What he had at first assumed to be a pleasant moment alone with the mare had become a horrifying ordeal. At the very least, Twilight was reassuring, and Caramel was certain she would keep her word.

As he contemplated the predicament in his head, Caramel flailed his arms in the air to get Twilight's attention. After cocking her head inquisitively, she lowered herself to the floor, causing an ample gust of wind to stir from underneath her. Twilight lowered her head to the floor, softly tapping on the wood next to her left ear, as if to beckon Caramel closer. Whispering as gently as she could manage, Twilight clarified,

"I will be able to hear you better this way. If... that's alright with you."

Caramel sat stunned on his haunches. If he didn't know any better, he might consider the view of the mare at his new stature to be, admittedly, breathtaking. He allowed the sight before him to sink in for a brief moment. Twilight's impossibly large eyes watched as Caramel simply gazed back at her. She blinked occasionally, something which at his new size was, in It's own right, entrancing. It suddenly dawned on him that he had never before been this close to the mare. The fear he felt, slowly and suddenly, gave way to fascination.

"Are you alright, Caramel?"

Twilight's voice unexpectedly roused the diminutive stallion from his trance, causing him to shake his head slightly. He trotted closer, until he was effectively touching the side of her face below her ear. He tried his hardest to speak loudly for the mare to hear.

"I'm... just fine, Twilight. I'm just a... a little bit overwhelmed is all. You're... HUGE!"

Twilight lifted her head slightly to reply, looking down at Caramel as she spoke.

"I don't mean to scare you. In fact, I cant begin to thank you enough! It was so kind of you to volunteer for something like this at all!"

She gave Caramel a warm, thankful smile before continuing.

"Now that I know I can perform this spell well enough, I suppose it would make sense to change you..."  
Twilight's eyes widened in realization

"... back..."

Her expression suddenly became a great deal more desperate. This caused Caramel considerable anxiety, as he blurted with great alarm

"You DO know how to change me back, right, Twilight?"

She simply replied

"Oh no. Ooooohhh no. Nononononono. This isnt good."

She rose to her hooves, and began trotting pensive circles above Caramel, nearly oblivious to him.

"I never did try out the growth spell... I don't even know how to do it, really. It cant be that complicated can it? Oh I'll start working on it right away, I promise Caramel! I'll get you back to normal as soon as I can!"

The stallion desperately ran out from underneath her hooves as she paced above him, having more close calls than he would have liked. Twilight gasped as she realized her recklessness, and stopped dead in her tracks.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! Here, let my help you up off the floor."

Twilight's horn illuminated in a familiar lavender glow, as a strange sensation overcame Caramel once more. Much to his horror, he felt himself being lifted high into the air by some unseen force. Being so high off the ground caused the stallion to elicit what sounded, to Twilight, like a squeak as she gently guided him through the air with her magic. He came to rest on the nearby table, next to a book that dwarfed him nearly as much as Twilight did. She released her magical grip and leaned in closely to speak.

"I'll start reading right now, Caramel, you just stay put. You'll be much safer here than on the floor."

She managed an artificial smile through her own flustered embarrassment. Caramel fared little better. The aerial ascent to the table took him completely off guard, and left him shivering and disoriented. Still, he wasn't an unfortunate smear under Twilight's hooves, and he was, at the moment, relatively safe. He took long, full breaths to calm his nerves as Twilight began flipping through the pages of the neighboring book with determination in her eyes. The fluttering of pages caused staggering gusts of air to blow through Caramels mane, nearly causing him to loose his footing. Twilight finally stopped as she read the familiar heading labeled Size Alteration. Through squinted eyes, she poured over the ancient text.

Caramel finally found some degree of solace beside Twilight, to which his palpitating heart graciously slowed It's cadence. He watched her hastily scan sentence after sentence, occasionally stopping to scratch her head with a hoof before turning the page. He took a seat on his haunches, staring up in absentminded wonder at the studious mare. Even at his new found size, she was alluring as ever. Her eyes reflected the faint candle light in her study like two brilliant amethysts suspended high in the heavens. Twilight blinked and turned to look at the miniscule pony beside her, catching him off guard. Embarrassed, Caramel quickly averted his eyes, running his hoof through his mane in an attempt to play it off. Twilight tried her best to smile, despite the severity of the situation.

"Is something wrong Caramel? I promise I'm reading as quickly as I can!"

Caramel replied with his cheeks flushing crimson

"O-oh, It's nothing at all, Twilight, don't m-mind me!"

Twilight managed a playful giggle before turning to read the tome before her

"I still cant hear you... I hope to fix that soon, don't you worry! I just need a little while longer to study this"

Caramel nodded, making a mental note not to get caught in such an embarrassing situation again. He instead sat, shuffling his hooves beneath him halfheartedly. Thoughts of the mare pleasantly danced around in his mind, a cheerful laugh here, a warm smile there. His twitterpation only grew as he waited for Twilight to reach an epiphany.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she closed the book with a dull THUD that startled Caramel to attention.

"Alright! I..."

Twilight paused, biting her lip

"I think I've got it. But before I cast the spell on you, I need to try it on something else... You know, just to be safe."

Another pause. She looked down at her hooves in obvious apprehension.

"I... I really hope I can do it."

Her eyes expressed a tinge of nervousness as she spoke. Caramel nodded, though Twilight's demeanor did little to set him at ease. Despite her own fear, Twilight nodded back. Her eyes darted about trying to find an appropriate item to test the spell on. After some thought, she finally settled on the lonely ink-well that lost It's companion quill in Twilight's last magical escapade. Quietly, she lowered her horn to touch It's brim. Caramel watched, wide eyed, as a familiar glow began to emanate from the tip of her horn. He was soon forced to cover his eyes to protect from a blinding flash that accompanied a very familiar magical popping noise. Slowly, he opened his eyes to behold the ink-well, unscathed and, sadly, unaltered.

Twilight's hopeful expression turned to one of disappointment as she backed away slowly, sighing dejectedly to herself. However, before she could turn to speak to Caramel, she was interrupted by another pop that caused her ears to perk up. Both she and the miniscule pony beside her turned to look at the ink-well, as yet another popping sound echoed off the walls of the room. Before their eyes, the ink-well began to diminish in size. Each subsequent pop brought about further shrinking, which continued for a few moments, pop after pop, until it dwindled into nothingness.

Twilight turned to the miniaturized pony on her desk with deep apology in her eyes. Despite this, it did little to ease Caramel. Watching the ink-well shrink into virtual nonexistence mortified Caramel beyond belief. What if he was stuck like this? What if he wasn't done shrinking? Would he continue to shrink just like the ink-well...? Thoughts came pouring in all too quickly for the little stallion. All Twilight could do was watch him bury his face in his hooves to hide the tears that began to well up in his eyes.

Twilight didn't know what to do to comfort the stallion. If anything, she should be apologizing with every fiber in her body for putting him in such a predicament in the first place. Yet she only stood, solemnly looking down on the broken pony.

"I- I'll try again, I promise! I'll keep trying till I-"

Caramel turned to Twilight, raising his voice to a bare squeak

"I hope, for your sake, that you fix this quickly, or else I'll... I'll"

It was in fumbling for something to say that Caramel realized just how powerless he was in his predicament. He had no real intent to harm her, yet knowing that there wasn't a thing he could do to threaten the mare made him feel smaller than ever. Despite this, Twilight could hear the contempt in Caramels voice, causing her to take a step back and lower her head in shame.

"I'm so sorry, I know you're mad at me..."

She dared not look the stallion in the eye.

"Usually I'm very good at this sort of thing, It's just..."

She continued to trot backward as she spoke, oblivious to Caramels saddlebags on the floor behind her.

"...this spell is difficult, and I didn't have a lot of practice! I promise, as soon as I perfect the spell, I will change you back to normal!"

As she finished her thought, her hind hoof knocked the saddlebag over, spilling It's contents onto the floor. Caramels eyes shot wide open as the bouquet he had planned on giving the mare came tumbling out into broad daylight.

"Oh, goodness, what did I..."

Twilight stopped and turned around. Her eyes darted instantly to the bright yellow flowers.  
Not at a time like this, Caramel lamented. Not now.

Twilight cocked her head inquisitively, unsure what to make of the sudden occurrence of such a beautiful array of flowers. It took her a second to put two and two together, but the realization made her cheeks blush a bright red.  
"O-oh my... These-"

She turned to Caramel, with a shocked expression.

"I- It's alright! I will put them back for you! I don't want to ruin them! They are really pretty, I- I mean, any mare would love getting flowers f-from you... I mean, just getting flowers at all really, from ANYpony! You know, from their special somepony or-"

Twilight wore a smile to mask her embarrassment, though concealed little of it.

"These... are for somepony else... right?"

With pleading eyes, she turned to Caramel. The stallion shuffled to his hooves, then stepped forward. He beckoned Twilight closer, speaking as soon as she was close enough to hear.

"I..."

Deep breaths, he thought. Deep breaths.

"I wish we could be discussing this in a better circumstance than this... But no, Twilight. Those... are for you."  
Twilight's eyes seemed to twinkle as they widened. She lifted a hoof to her mouth as she muttered.  
"O-oh"

Silence hung heavy in the air . Twilight took to examining the floor and biting on her hoof nervously. Admittedly, It was not the reaction Caramel hoped for. Fearing the worst, he spoke up.

"Twilight? Are you... okay? I..."

He gulped

"I would understand if you didn't want anything to do with me. Honest. You can tell me."

He hung his head, waiting for Twilight's harsh rejection to crush him flatter than any misstep ever could. However, silence prevailed once more; The reprimand never came. Instead, a soft, angelic voice washed over him like a refreshing breeze

"Caramel, don't think that even for an instant. I-"

She paused and sat on the floor, lowering her face to meet Caramels.

"I have never gotten such a sweet gift from anypony."

Once she finished speaking, she gently brought her hoof to Caramels chin, lifting it slightly to allow their eyes to meet. Twilight smiled and crossed her eyes to look down at the tiny pony beneath her

"A- And to be honest, I've never had anypony s-show any interest in... me."

She stopped, and corrected herself apologetically

" I- I mean, if that's what this is all about in the first place! It's just... I've read books about how stallions will bring flowers for mares they like! It's a very common way to show affection and I guess I just assumed, and-"

Before Twilight could finish her thought, Caramel lifted a hoof and placed it on her muzzle to hush her. The mare gasped in surprise. Unsure of how to proceed, Caramel simply let his hoof linger. Each shallow breath Twilight took blew his mane to and fro, relaxing his nerves enough to encourage him to speak.

"I never had the courage to tell you before, Twilight. I thought today would be a good enough day as any to let you know how I felt... But It's all been one big awkward mess."

He sighed

"I promise to you that the instant you turn me back to normal, we can try it all over again. I'll be sure to actually give you the flowers myself! I'm sorry it ended up like this..."

Twilight grinned and shook her head.

"In case you've forgotten, I am the reason this whole evening has been a bit... Haywire. If anypony should be apologizing, It's me."

Despite the flurry of emotions he was currently experiencing, Caramel managed a smile of his own.

"I just hope you can turn me back soon, Twilight. I'm not much good to anypony at this size. "

His face wore an expression that begged for pity while his tail found refuge between his back legs.

"E-especially not... you"

Twilight looked genuinely hurt at the words that came out of the stallions mouth. Twilight bit her lower lip and blushed the deepest ruby-red Caramel had ever seen on the mare. She placed both her hooves on the table beside Caramel and leaned in closer, whispering

"Caramel! Spell or not, you are the first stallion ever to give me flowers. To be honest, I don't really know what to say."

Her eyes lit up, and questions found their way to her lips too quickly to be stopped. She enthusiastically blurted,

"Does this make you my coltfriend? We can be a couple, right? My copy of Modern Romantic says It's common to make relationships like this public! Oh! Will we have to plan dates? I can do that! Do we hold hooves? That's what couples do, right? I'm sorry, I'm really new to this! It's all just so different and exciting! I hope I'm not being too-"

Twilight was cut off by a warm, tingling sensation. She had been too lost in her tangent to realize Caramel placing his lips on her own, sealing between them a warm kiss. The warmth shot up her spine like a jolt of electricity, causing the hairs on her neck to stand up on end. Her eyes shot wide open as she looked down at the miniature pony; her ears perked up reflexively and her breathing was stilled.  
For an instant, all things froze.

Caramel took a few steps back from Twilight, bashfully scuffing his hooves on the table. Twilight was the first to break the hanging silence.

"W-wow, that was... umm... unexpected, Caramel!"

A cheesy smile found itself awkwardly onto Twilight's face.

"N-Not unwelcome in the least! Just... unexpected! It's not every day I... yeah"

She scolded herself under her breath and continued to speak incoherently

"I... wow. That... Caramel..."

Embarrassed and confused, Twilight simply let her head slump to the table in a giggling mess. Caramel couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he trotted closer to her. Comfortingly, he nuzzled the mares cheek.

"I promise I'll give you a proper kiss when you work out the growth spell, Twilight."

His gesture, though largely underwhelming, soothed the unicorn immensely. In turn, Twilight turned to face him.

"For both of our sakes, I hope I can sort that out as soon as possible... However, I-In the mean time..."

A smirk emerged on Twilight's face as she leaned in closer to Caramel. She let her snout come to rest on top of him, gingerly nuzzling him into the table. He wriggled and writhed underneath her, chuckling as he did so. Eventually, she let up on the stallion, allowing him to shuffle back up to his hooves.

As Caramel stood, he turned to the beautiful unicorn above him. She beamed down with a warmth he had thus far never seen from the mare. Despite the overwhelming strangeness of the predicament he found himself in, he couldn't help but feel content and at peace. Not only had Twilight accepted his affection, she reciprocated it. Their eyes met for a long, precious moment as Caramel contemplated all the wonderful emotions surging through him.

If ever a pony felt loved, Caramel certainly did.


End file.
